Although the explanation of encopresis was adequate, and the overall treatment gudelines were consistent with today's literature, all of the research and case studies presented were from the 1970's, with information that is significantly outdated. I think there would be a lot of controversy if these cases were presented to the medical community today. The case studies were actually a little disturbing.

This book contains a collection of articles from the selective mutism literature up to the year 1995. With the exception of a few articles that are scientifically valid, the book is a compilation of misguided information. Even the title is misleading in that selective mutism has been defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a "failure" to speak and not a refusal to speak. Most of the new literature supporting the concept that selective mutism is an involuntary response to anxiety is absent.

Look up books using the keyword, shyness. Here are some I found at amazon.com

Buster: The Very Shy Dog by Lisze Bechtold(Illustrator)

Let's Talk About Being Shy (The Let's Talk Library) by Marianne Johnston

J. Rooker, Manatee by Jan Haley, Paul Brent(Illustrator)

The Shy Child : A Parent's Guide to Preventing and Overcoming Shyness from Infancy to Adulthood by Philip G. Zimbardo, Shirley L. Radl

These can be helpful. The book I'm reviewing IS more HARMFUL than helpful. I didn't order it. I read it at a library. It is awful and would increase feelings of inadequacy, anger, etc. which can make a person shy.

School, insurance programs, medical programs, and so forth make a lot of money by having kids diagnosed so they can get money from the government. Remember, "the government" is our tax dollars and many of these dollars are spent unwisely!

Buy some of the other great books at amazon.com about shyness but don't get this one!

This book is a nightmare! The editors ignore current literature in a seeming effort to further misinformation about a difficult to treat disorder. They are almost as guilty of child abuse as the clinicians who "treated" June and Jennifer Gibbons: identical twins with SM, born in 1965 in England. (It was the CLINICIANS who created the 'monsters' in the girls through their ignorance!) SM is a physiologically-based anxiety disorder and as such must be treated with behavior mod. and/ or meds and COMPASSION for those afflicted!